1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a connector jack attaching structure and an electronic camera, and more specifically a structure for reinforcing a connector jack to be surface-mounted on a board.
2. Description of the Related Art
As methods for attaching a connector jack to a board, there have conventionally been adopted a method to solder a connector jack to a surface of a board, a method to insert a connector jack partially into a through hole of a board and solder the connector jack from a rear side of the board, a method to screw a connector jack to a board and the like.
Furthermore, a liquid crystal monitor which is disposed in an electronic camera is fixed to a metal frame and the metal frame is fixed in the electronic camera together with a board or the like having a connector jack.
In case of a small connector jack, there is adopted a method which solders the connector jack to a surface of a board, but this method poses a problem that the method relies on strength of a pattern on the board and the connector jack becomes susceptible to detachment after a plug is repeatedly inserted and extracted and pried, though the method requires a smaller number of attaching steps as compared with other attaching methods. A small connector jack which is disposed on a small appliance such as an electronic camera in particular has a small soldering area and is problematic in its durability.
In case of an electronic camera in which a connector jack and a liquid crystal monitor are disposed at locations close to each other, there is a problem that the connector jack and the liquid crystal monitor produce influences on each other due to noise and another problem that the metal frame for holding the liquid crystal monitor is configured to have a form for fitting the liquid crystal monitor, thereby having a complicated form and a heavy weight.
The present invention has been attained in view of such circumstances and has an object to provide a connector jack attaching structure which reinforces a connector jack to be surface-mounted on a board and is capable of enhancing durability of the connector jack against insertion and extraction and prying of a plug.
Furthermore, the present invention has another object to provide an electronic camera comprising a connector jack and a liquid crystal monitor disposed at locations close to each other, which is capable of lowering noise, and can be configured compact and light in weight.
In order to attain the above-described objects, the present invention is directed to a connector jack attaching structure for attaching a connector jack to a board, comprising: a reinforcing member shaped to cover an outer circumference of the connector jack and having an attaching portion to be attached to the board, wherein: the connector jack is surface-mounted on the board; the outer circumference of the connector jack surface-mounted on the board is covered with the reinforcing member; and the attaching portion of the reinforcing member is fixed to the board.
That is, the connector jack surface-mounted on the board is reinforced by covering the outer circumference of the connector jack with the reinforcing member which is separate from the connector jack and fixing the reinforcing member to the board. Since the reinforcing member covers the circumference of the connector jack, the reinforcing member serves for preventing noise from penetrating into the connector jack.
The above-described connector jack is characterized in that it has a rectangular pipe member into which an external connector is to be inserted, that a surface of the above-described pipe member is placed on the above-described board and surface-mounted thereon by soldering, and that the above-described reinforcing member is brought into contact with other three surfaces of the above-described pipe member. Furthermore, the attaching portion of the above-described reinforcing member is characterized in that it is fixed to the above-described board by at least one of screwing, soldering and engagement. The above-described reinforcing member is characterized in that it comprises a sheet metal member and the above-described sheet metal member is grounded.
The above-described reinforcing member is characterized in that it has a spring portion which protrudes on a side opposite to the above-described attaching portion and is formed integrally with the reinforcing member, and the above-described spring portion is kept in elastic contact with a member adjacent to the above-described board, thereby grounding the above-described member. Accordingly, the member adjacent to the above-described board can be grounded easily by utilizing the above-described reinforcing member.
The present invention is also directed to an electronic camera comprising the above-described connector jack attaching structure and a liquid crystal monitor, characterized in that the above-described liquid crystal monitor is held with a molded resin frame and a metal member on a rear surface of the above-described liquid crystal monitor is brought into elastic contact with the spring portion of the above-described reinforcing member at a fixing time of the above-described frame in the camera, thereby grounding the metal member on the rear surface of the above-described liquid crystal monitor by way of the above-described reinforcing member.
That is, when a frame for holding the liquid crystal monitor is configured as the molded resin frame, the frame can have a more complicated form and a lighter weight than a metal frame. Furthermore, the electronic camera is configured to reduce noise by grounding the metal member on the rear surface of the liquid crystal monitor easily by utilizing the above-described reinforcing member.